Donor Impact Supports KPH Students
Cal Poly students Jennifer Perez Aguilar (left), Storey Balko (middle) and Grace Bell (right) showcase their research at a poster presentation at the Southwest Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine conference, which took place in October 2024 in Irvine, California.
June 2025 / NEWS STORY
by Nick Wilson
Attendance at academic conferences serves an important role in helping students to develop knowledge, discover available resources, become familiar with specialized areas of study and build professional networks — and donor contributions help give students impactful support.
Kinesiology and Public Health Department discretionary funds, which came from donor gifts, allowed 27 Cal Poly students to attend three engaging California conference events this academic year where they explored, learned, mingled, presented their own work and heard from industry leaders.
Five students attended the Western Society for Kinesiology and Wellness conference in Oakland, held Oct. 2-4, 2024; 11 students participated in the Southwest Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine conference, which took place Oct. 24-26, 2024, at the Hilton in Irvine, California; and 11 students attended the Society for Public Health Education conference held April 15-18 in Long Beach, California.
Storey Balko, a fourth-year kinesiology major whose concentration is exercise science, attended the Irvine conference which included a presentation by Dr. Stella Volpe, president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), a sports medicine and exercise science membership organization that holds conferences, publishes books and journals and offers professional certifications.
“Dr. Volpe delved into her field of expertise, covering how nutrition impacts exercise performance and metabolism, with a focus on functional foods like tart cherry juice and beets,” Balko said. “Later that afternoon, we explored a poster session, where one standout poster examined the use of backward walking as a potential rehabilitation method to strengthen the knee after an ACL tear.”
Additionally, Balko studied for and participated in the 14th annual Southwest Student Jeopardy Bowl during which contestants answer questions in categories such as anatomy, bioenergetics, biomechanics, exercise physiology, environmental aspects, cardiovascular physiology, sports nutrition, special populations, and ACSM guidelines.
Balko presented research through a poster presentation on the effects of sedentary screen time, alongside Cal Poly classmates Jennifer Perez Aguilar (biomedical engineering major) and Grace Bell (biological sciences major).
Activities with the participant group included a walk around Newport Beach’s pier and a talk on the comparative effects of exercise and localized heat therapy on mitochondrial and muscle adaptations.
“We presented our own poster at this session and visited others, including three from BYU that focused on the psychological impact on time, fatigue, ACL recovery, and the effects of ultramarathons on bone and cartilage health,” Balko said. “Additionally, we observed a poster from Cal Poly Pomona evaluating the effectiveness of specialized resistance equipment for training elderly populations.”
Donor support makes attendance at events like these possible, giving students opportunities to grow personally and professionally, and to enhance ways to navigate and successfully launch their careers.
